Don't Leave Me
by adventurous97
Summary: My idea of what might have happened after the building explosion in 2x22. Will everyone be able to survive?
1. Chaos

**This is my second CF Fanfic, and the first that isn't a oneshot! I hope you like it, and please leave reviews! Thank you! **

Don't Leave Me

Chapter 1

As Boden got himself up off the ground, he found himself bleeding lightly on his hands and face, and found most of the ground around him covered in rocks, pieces of brick, and broken glass. He yelled into his radio, "Anyone from 51! Report! Report!" As he headed towards the Battalion 25 car, he yelled into his radio again, "25 to main. Mayday. Mayday! Emergency! Send immediate backup! At least ten firefighters and paramedics inside a building that just exploded! Help!" He put down the radio as he put his protective gear, helmet, and oxygen mask on. After he attached his radio to his gear, he ran inside the building.

"Casey! Severide! Dawson! Shay! Anyone!" he yelled, but to no avail on the ground floor. After going up a flight of stairs, he stumbled across two men with guns.

Both dead.

He looked around the second floor and then heard "Help! Help!" from above him. He immediately sprinted up the stairs to the third floor, and found chaos.

All the Squad guys, who Boden could distinguish by their red armbands, were crowded around a person on the ground on one side of the room, while Shay was helping some of the other guys up, and another Truck guy was huddling over Dawson.

_No._

"25 to main. We're going to need another ambulance. Quickly!" he yelled into his radio. He went straight to Shay and asked, "Are you okay?" He could see that she was covered in dusk and her wrist was bleeding, but nothing else was clearly wrong because she said, "I'm fine, Chief. But Dawson and Severide are both down."

Boden turned, and saw that Casey was the man standing over Dawson. When he walked over, he found her unconscious and bleeding from her head. He took off his oxygen mask and tank, and handed it to Casey. "Put this over Dawson's face," he ordered, "It'll help her to breathe easier until we get her outside. Shay! Everyone on Truck! Help Casey get Dawson outside _now_!" As the Truck guys and Shay lifted Dawson up and headed for the stairs, Boden approached the Squad guys. "Severide!" he yelled. "Severide!"

As he crouched down next to Severide, he saw Severide's face curled into that of someone in a lot of pain. He couldn't see any bleeding, so automatically feared that he must have an internal injury. "Keep his mask on and get him outside as quick as you can," Boden ordered, coughing amidst the dust and smoke. "Go!"

Boden followed all the Truck guys outside, and Mills removed Severide's mask after they laid him down on the pavement. "Oh my God, my ribs and head hurt like hell. My leg too! Ow! Don't touch it, Cap!"

"Just hang tight, Kelly, the ambulances are on their way," Boden said, and rushed over to Dawson. They had taken Boden's mask off, but she was still unconscious. Shay had grabbed gauze from the ambo, and was trying to stop the blood flow from her head wound. Meanwhile, Casey was yelling, "Gabby! Gabby! Wake up!"

"That won't help, Casey," Shay said, beating Boden to it. "She's out completely."

"She's still breathing, right?" Casey said, almost breathless.

"Yeah, she is."

Casey looked up at Boden for what to do next, and Boden asked Shay, "Is 61 still intact?"

"Yes sir."

"Take Dawson to the hospital now, and get someone to drive you. Kelly can take the one pulling up now."

"Hey Cap!" Shay yelled, "I need you to drive me, Casey, and Dawson to Lakeshore now!" Cap rushed for the backboard, and once all three of them got Dawson in the back, Cap jumped in the front, turned on the lights and sirens, and sped off for Lakeshore.

Meanwhile, Mills had taken over first-aid care for Severide, so he hopped in the back of the second ambulance with him, and they quickly left for Lakeshore as well. Everyone else, including Boden, were forced to stay behind to put out the fire. Luckily, it didn't take too long, and they were en route within thirty minutes.

Back in the ambulance with Dawson, Casey, and Shay, Dawson's heart rate began to drop as they approached Lakeshore, and Shay had to intubate her. Casey, holding Dawson's left hand, began to cry, and begged, "Gabby, don't leave me. Please don't leave me."


	2. Emergency Surgery

Chapter 2

When the rest of the 51 crew arrived at the Lakeshore waiting room, they found Casey and Shay crying and pacing anxiously and Cap and Mills sitting down, but trying not to fidget too much. Everyone was really worried about Dawson and Severide, and everyone who had just arrived found a seat in the waiting room. No one bothered to ask Shay or Casey to sit down, because they all knew that they wouldn't.

"Do you know anything?" Boden asked as politely as possible.

"Not yet," Shay replied. "They wouldn't tell either of us anything when we arrived."

As soon as Shay had finished speaking, one of the head Lakeshore doctors walked out into the lobby. Casey immediately approached him and asked, "Is Gabriela Dawson okay? What about Kelly Severide?"

"I have updates on them both," the doctor began. He sighed, and then continued. "According to our scans and examinations, Mr. Severide has a bad concussion and three broken ribs. He's got a femur fracture too. However, one of them almost punctured his lung, so we're trying to make sure that there is no damage there.

"Unfortunately, Ms. Dawson has, along with a broken wrist and a bad gash in her leg, a bad head injury. She's lost a lot of blood. They're both in emergency surgery right now. I'll let you all know when there are any updates."

The updates only served to make Casey, Shay, and everyone else more anxious, and Boden had the confidence to ask, "And the two gunmen found in the building?"

"Both DOA, so no need to worry about them," the doctor said. "However, those of you who were inside the building with those guys before the explosion may be getting calls from the CPD soon. Just as a heads up."

"Thank you," Boden said, and the doctor nodded and disappeared behind the doors again. Casey looked through the window to the hallway, but couldn't see any sign of Severide or Dawson. He began sniffing as tears filled his eyes, and he finally decided to sit down. Shay sat down next to him as he closed his eyes, and he prayed that both Kelly and Gabby would be okay.

Casey pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts list. Shay observed him, asking, "What are you doing?"

"Calling Antonio," Casey said as he hit _Dial, _trying to wipe tears from his eyes. After a few rings, he picked up. "Hey Casey, what's up?"

"Antonio," he began, sniffing, "There was an explosion during one of our calls."

Antonio immediately got worried. "Where's Gabby? Is she okay?"

"She's in emergency surgery. We're all waiting at Lakeshore. I'm sorry," he said, each word hurting like hell.

Antonio gasped, grabbing his coat and keys while still holding the phone. "I'm leaving right now. Was anyone else hurt?"

"Severide. He's in emergency surgery too."

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can. Hang tight," Antonio said, hanging up the phone.

"What's wrong, Antonio?" Lindsay asked, now standing next to him.

With tears in his eyes, he told her, "Gabby's in emergency surgery at Lakeshore. She got caught in an explosion during a call that 51 got sent to."

Lindsay gasped, immediately worried about Severide. "Oh my God! Was anyone else hurt?"

"Kelly Severide. He's in emergency surgery as well apparently," Antonio said, but when he saw Erin's scared face, he asked, "Am I missing something?"

"You're driving, and I'll be out in thirty seconds," Erin said, not waiting for an answer. As Antonio rushed down the stairs, Erin grabbed her jacket and her phone and ran down the stairs after him.


	3. I Never Got A Chance

Chapter 3

As the minutes seemed to drag on, Casey leaned back and closed his eyes, finding himself inside the smoldering building again.

Shay and Dawson had been the last to come in after Casey had radioed in about a possible spinal injury. They had already been cornered by two guys in hoodies with handguns. The second gun had been drawn after Casey had radioed them. Kelly had given him a weird look, but Casey had figured that it was worth the risk.

The guys who had drawn his gun first was holding the bomb trigger in his other hand. The bomb was positioned to their left, with Casey closest to it.

Casey got hopeful when he heard Shay and Dawson's footsteps, but avoided eye contact as they reached the top. He was closest to the stairs, but he didn't dare run as he had been threatened already.

Shay and Dawson quietly put their equipment down, and, after Shay tried to stop her, Dawson ran for him.

She jumped in front of him just as the bomb went off.

Back in the waiting room, Casey opened his eyes again and began to sob into his hands. Shay, sitting next to him, put her hand on his shoulder. "Casey, it's going to be okay."

Casey wanted to believe her, but he had already realized that the ring was still in his pocket.

"I never got a chance to find out if she said yes," Casey said, sobbing onto Shay's shoulder.

Shay pulled Casey into a hug, feeling terrible for him. As she closed her eyes, she was brought back to the inside of the building.

When she and Dawson reached the top of the stairs, they quietly put down their equipment and tried to figure out what to do.

Or more like, try and stop Dawson from being impulsive.

As soon as she had seen Casey standing close to the bomb, she had tried to lunge for him but Shay had pulled her back, telling her that that was not the wisest course of action. It was a miracle the gunmen hadn't heard them – they were too engrossed in listening to the firefighters' pleas for release.

She turned and saw Kelly about to lunge for the gunmen closest to him, and she saw Dawson lunging for Casey out of the corner of her eye. She was powerless to stop either of them, and before she could yell, she was thrust backward by a wave of fire, rock, and dust.

As Shay opened her eyes and leaned against the back of her chair again, she began to cry, staring at the ceiling. "Shay?" Casey asked.

Shay turned to Casey, and said, "My two best friends are both in emergency surgery, and we don't know if they're going to make it, and-"

She stopped talking to sniff and clear her throat, and Boden chose that moment to walk over to Shay and Casey. Standing between them, he put his hands on Shay and Casey's shoulders. He looked at them both, and said, "I know this is hard, but they're both going to be okay. Severide's determined," he said, looking at Shay, "And seriously, Dawson's a fighter. I've never seen anything stop her," he said, looking Casey, causing him to cry a bit harder. "They'll be well soon enough, I just know it," he said, trying to smile. He then stood back up and went over to sit next to Mills.

Shay wanted to tell Casey that Dawson wanted to say yes, but she stayed quiet because their engagement was between them, and he didn't want to give Casey false hope when they didn't yet know anything.

The doors to the waiting room opened, and Antonio and Erin walked into the already crowded waiting room. Antonio headed straight for Casey, who stood up and gave him a big hug. "Do we know anything else yet?" he asked.

"Only that she's got a bad head injury and she's lost a lot of blood," Casey said. He already felt tired from worrying so much, but at the same time, Casey's adrenalin was keeping him very awake. Antonio sighed, with tears in his eyes, and said, "God, I hope she makes it. I don't know what the world would be like without her."

"I was thinking much the same," Casey said, trying to smile. "But Boden said earlier that Gabby's a fighter. She'll make it."

"Yeah, she is," he said, turning away.

"Hey," Casey said, putting his hand on Antonio's right shoulder, "Today, it's totally okay to cry. Shay and I have pretty much balled our eyes out already."

"I guess you're right," he said. As he looked around at all the firefighters from 51, he said, "Us Intelligence detectives are as tight as you guys are. When I got shot a month or so ago, everyone from the Unit hung around until they knew that I was going to be okay."

While Antonio and Casey continued chatting, Lindsay suddenly found herself alone in a crowd of tall, muscular, and unusually emotional firefighters. Except for one other lady dressed in a paramedics' uniform sitting in a chair against the far wall. _Shay? _She asked herself.

She walked over and asked, "Shay? Is that you?" Shay looked up, gasped, and said, "Detective Lindsay? Are you okay?"

_Oh shoot, _Erin thought, _Kelly hasn't told her. _"Okay, this is going to sound really awkward, but Kelly and I are dating. I came down here with Antonio after Casey called him at the precinct."

Shay smiled lightly, then gave Erin a hug. When she pulled back, she said, "You know, I was wondering who Kelly was texting all the time these past few weeks. I'm really happy for both of you."

"Thanks," Erin said, "Have there been any updates on Kelly? Is he going to be okay?"

"He's in surgery right now, but we know that he's got a few broken ribs, a concussion, and a femur fracture. One of his broken ribs might have punctured a lung though."

Lindsay gasped in shock. "What one earth happened?"

"We all got called into a building, and everyone except for me and Dawson were being held at gunpoint by two guys as they triggered a bomb. The whole floor basically exploded."

Now it was Lindsay's turn to cry. "Hey there," she said, "You really care about him, right?" When she nodded in reply, Shay continued, "Then you will certainly be helping me with his recovery at home. Then he won't get sick of me."  
"I'll look forward to that. You keep beer in stock at your place."

"Oh, lots," Shay said. She could already tell that she liked Lindsay. She was about to ask Lindsay if she wanted to sit down when a man in surgical scrubs walked into the waiting room. Dr. Arata.

Shay tapped Lindsay on the shoulder as she rushed towards the surgeon, and he started talking once she had gotten closer. "Kelly Severide is out of surgery and coming around. Both his lungs are fully intact, and with a lot of rest, he'll make a full recovery."

Everyone, particularly Shay and Lindsay, gasped with relief. "Can we see him?" Shay asked the surgeon. In response, Dr. Arata looked at Shay and Lindsay and said, "Of course. Room 312."

Lindsay and Shay made sure they still had their jackets and phones and ran through the double doors to find Kelly's room. No sooner had the doors opened to let them through had Casey come forward himself. "Is Gabby Dawson okay?"

Dr. Arata hesitated, then replied, "She's still in surgery. I don't have any updates yet. I'm sorry."

Casey felt his emotions coming to the surface once again, and sat down in one of the chairs with his head in his hands. All he could think about now was that he prayed that Gabby would be okay.


	4. I Never Left

**Thank you so much to everyone for all the positive reviews! All of them have made me smile that all of you guys enjoy reading the story! Enjoy this next chapter! **

Chapter 4

Shay and Lindsay sprinted down the hall to room 312 and found a very banged up, but coherent, Severide sitting on the hospital bed inside. Shay walked in first, and said, "God, Kelly, you scared me!" She gave Kelly a light hug as Erin walked into the room. Kelly smiled and tears came to his eyes. "Erin, I'm so sorry…"

Erin cut him off by giving him a big kiss, and Shay just smiled as she stood next to the hospital bed. "It's okay, but God damn, you gave me a heart attack!" Erin exclaimed.

"I should have gotten someone to call you," Kelly said.

"Don't worry about it. Casey called Antonio about Gabby and when he told me that you were hurt, I came in with him."

"Gabby? Is she okay?"

Erin and Shay looked at each other for a split second, and Shay said, "She's still in surgery. We don't know much more than that she's got a bad head injury and she's lost a lot of blood."

Kelly sighed, and said, "You'll let me know when you find out more, won't you?"

"Of course," Erin assured him. Shay nodded in agreement, and Erin and Shay each grasped one of Kelly's hands. Shay asked, "So…how are you feeling?"

"Well, to start with, my ribs and my leg hurt like hell and my head's throbbing a little. Not fun. I wish they would give me more painkillers."

"You just came out of surgery," Shay said. "They'll get more in your system soon."

"I hope so, otherwise I won't be able to sleep," Kelly said angrily.

"Hey," Erin said, "You're alive, and those doctors managed to save both of your lungs. Give them some credit."

"I know, sorry," Kelly replied. He looked at Shay as if remembering something, and asked, "What happened to the two douchebags with the guns?"

"The ones from the explosion?" Shay asked for clarification. When Kelly nodded 'yes' in reply, Shay sighed and said, "Both DOA. Most likely killed by the force of the blast."

Kelly sighed with relief. "At least we won't have to deal with them again. Have they been ID'd yet?"

"Not that I know of, but I'll try to find out if you want," Erin offered. Kelly was about to accept Erin's offer, but then he sighed and said, "You know what, I want to focus on what's good right now, not how I ended up here. Can I have some food? I'm starving."

Shay and Erin both laughed after getting more teary-eyed, and after Kelly said, "What?" Shay replied, "We're both just really happy that you're okay. You're already becoming yourself again."

"I never left," Kelly said, "And I never will."


	5. Room 336

Chapter 5

Back in the emotion-packed waiting room, Antonio sat down next to a tired-looking Casey. He sighed, and after a few seconds, found the courage to ask, "So…did you pop the question?"

Casey looked up at Antonio with regret in his eyes and said, "I did, but…"

"But what?"

"I didn't give her a chance to say yes because we got a call. The call that ended up becoming an explosion. So I asked her, I just don't know if she said yes." Casey felt like he was about to break down again when Antonio put his hand on Casey's shoulder.

"I can tell you right now, Matt, that she would have said yes," Antonio said.

"You really think so?" Casey asked, hopeful.

"Oh, I'm sure. Casey, she's cared about you for a really long time. Pretty much two years, in fact."

Casey, surprised, turned to Antonio, and asked, "Back before we started dating? Back before Hallie died?"

"Yeah," Antonio said, remembering one afternoon in particular. "I remember one encounter quite well. Remember when you asked Gabby to call me so you could talk to me about a potential dirty cop and the three of us met outside the firehouse?"

"When you first told me that Voight was dirty?" Casey asked, now remembering.

"Yep," Antonio affirmed, "Well, you went back inside the firehouse so it was just my sister and I outside, only, she was staring at you as you walked back inside. I asked you how long she had been dating you, and she said, with a bit of envy, that you were taken. I could tell from that point on that she had feelings for you, and was having a hard time hiding them. She hated seeing you suffer from that whole Voight mess."

Casey, stunned, didn't respond for a second, instead taking in what Antonio had just told him. He knew that Gabby had cared about him for a really long time, but he hadn't quite realized that she had cared about him for _that _long. He looked back at Antonio, and said, "Thanks man. I just wish, now that you've told me this, that I could have been there more for her back then."

"Casey," Antonio said, "You are the best guy my sister's ever dated. The one I've liked the best. And trust me, ever since you two got together, I've never seen my sister happier."

"Really?" Casey asked, feeling a little proud.

"Really," Antonio replied, smiling. "And one more thing about Gabby. You probably know this already, but she's a real fighter. While it's painful having to sit here and wait and all, part of me knows that she'll get through this. When she sets her mind to something, no one can stop her."

Casey laughed. "Yeah, I definitely see that in her. That's one of the things I love best about her. She's the most wonderful woman I've ever known."

"You're one of the kindest guys I've ever known, Casey. One of the best."

The first thing I felt was pain.

And a whole lot of it.

I wasn't entirely conscious, but as I felt myself waking up, I could feel lots and lots of pain. In my head. A little in my wrist, but especially in my head. My leg hurt too.

I suddenly felt my senses become alert and I opened my eyes. I found myself looking at a hospital ceiling, and I could hear multiple monitors around me as I discovered an IV in my left wrist, and a cast on my right wrist. There was a second IV in my upper right arm. I reached my non-bandaged hand up to feel around my head, and I winced at the pain as I touched multiple stitches that ran in an arc-like line from the top of my skull to just above my left ear. I tried to lift my head up to get a glance of my right leg, which was feeling more painful now, but the second I lifted my head off the pillow, I felt terrible pain and leaned back into the pillow again.

I closed my eyes for a second, and when I opened them again a nurse walked into the room. "Oh, you're awake," she said. "If you don't mind, I need to ask you a few questions."

"Can I ask a few first?" Gabby asked, finding her voice croaky since this was the first time she'd spoken since before the explosion.

Oh God.

The explosion.

What had happened?

Was everyone okay?

Did I save Casey?

"Ma'am?" the nurse repeated, and Gabby brought her thought process back to reality. "Sorry?" Gabby asked.

"What is your name?"

"Gabriela Dawson."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty eight."

"What is your date of birth?"

"November 12th, 1985," Gabby said, and upon deciding that she was tired of being asked questions, she said, "Why are you asking me all this?"

"You suffered what could be a bad head injury, so I need to make sure that you remember some crucial info."

"Did I suffer a bad head injury? And what happened to my leg? It hurts a lot."

"Well," the nurse replied, "You got a bad gash in your leg, resulting in multiple stitches and a lot of blood loss. We had to give you a blood transfusion. And as for your head, you're lucky. There doesn't appear to be any brain damage, just a lot of blood loss there too. And, as I'm sure you've already seen, your wrist is broken."

"Fabulous," Gabby said through gritted teeth at the pain in her body, "Can I see Matthew Casey? Like…right now?"

The nurse nodded, and said, "I'll go fetch him for you myself. It should only take a couple of minutes."

Gabby said, "Thanks," and leaned back against the pillow as she closed her eyes for a few more seconds. She hoped that Matt's company would help ease the pain.

The nurse walked out into the still-crowded waiting area. Everyone stopped talking and turned to her as if they had been awaiting her arrival. Nobody stood up, though, so she began to speak. "Matthew Casey?" she asked tentatively.

A split second later, a tall, slender firefighter with dirty blond hair was sprinting over to her. He nodded that he was who she was asking for, and she said, "Gabriela Dawson's awake from surgery. She's asking for you."

She saw the man's face get tearful with joy and relief, and as soon as she said "Room 336," he was running through the doors behind her to find Gabby.


	6. You're The Girl For Me

**Thank you so much for all the awesome reviews! I love receiving and reading each one…it gives so much joy that you are all enjoying this story! Enjoy this next installment! Sadly, I'm going out of town soon, so this will (probably) be the last chapter until August. :( But I hope that you all keep thinking about this story - I'll be writing a lot in August for sure!**

Chapter 6

Casey found himself walking down the hospital hallway so fast that he almost couldn't read the signs on the walls. He realized that he was on the third floor, so he just had to find which hallway lead to room 336. He stopped, took a deep breath, and look above him. The signs on the left and right were no help, but the words in the center accompanied by a straight-facing arrow were.

_Rooms 331-350._

He broke into a small jog while trying not to run into any nurses, scanning the signs next to all the doors. He soon reached room 336 on his right. The door was slightly ajar, but the blinds were drawn. The placard, which looked like it had been quickly inserted, read _Gabriela Dawson _in all capitals. Without another moment of hesitation, he pushed open the door and walked inside.

He pulled back the curtains to find Gabby conscious, but surrounded by monitors, IVs, and bandages. As soon as they made eye contact, he felt like he wanted to cry with relief. "Gabby?" he asked, tears starting to fall down his face.

"Hey, Matt," Gabby said, cringing slightly as she finished talking. Casey grabbed Dawson's left hand, being careful not to put pressure on the IVs, and sat down on the edge of her bed. He put his free hand on the side of her face, telling her, "I'm so glad you're going to be okay."

"I'm sorry," Gabby said suddenly. "For what?" Casey responded.

"I tried to jump in front of you to save you and you look like you've been worried out of your mind for hours…I didn't mean to put you through that. I just didn't want to risk losing you again."

"Gabby, you never have to apologize for trying to save me, okay? Look at me, I'm alive just like you. You saved me. I was just worried that I was going to lose you," Casey said, sniffing and trying to locate a tissue. When he couldn't, he just wiped some of his tears with his shirt sleeve. "So," he said, "How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts a lot. Same with my leg. Where are the painkillers anyway?" Dawson asked, chuckling slightly.

"I'm sure. You've got a decent line of stitches up there. They said it wasn't serious though."

"Yeah, the nurse said that I lost a lot of blood," Dawson replied, tears flowing down her face. "It's just…"

"What?"  
"When I woke up, you know who I thought of first? You," she said, squeezing his hand. "That's why I wanted to see you so fast, because I needed to see that you were okay."

"Well, I am, and you're going to be okay in no time too. I'll be there for you every step of the way," Casey said, never so grateful to see his girl in his entire life. Before he could think of what to say next, Dawson said, "Casey?"

"Yeah?"

"I wish I would have been able to tell you under more "romantic" circumstances, but…" Dawson trailed off, trying to get her brain to figure out how to phrase her words with all the drugs in her system.

"Say what, Gabby?" Casey asked, anxious.

"I never got a chance to say yes," Dawson said, the tears flowing faster now, "I know you didn't let me respond at that moment, but I knew from right then that my answer would be yes. There's no one else who I would want to marry. Ever. Cause you're the guy for me."

Casey began to cry more too, feeling over the moon as he reached into his pocket and said, "Good thing I still have this in my pocket." Gabby gasped as he opened the ring box, took the ring out, and put it on her left ring finger. He leaned forward and kissed her, and when he pulled away, he said, "There's no one else I'd want to marry either.

"Cause you're the girl for me."


	7. Painkillers

**Hi everyone! Sorry for long wait, but it's finally over! Enjoy this update! :)**

Chapter 7

No sooner had Casey sat back down in his chair to let the nurse give Gabby painkillers did Shay, Lindsay, and Antonio dash into the room. "Antonio!" Gabby gasped, and Antonio's eyes watered up as he dashed over to the left side of the bed to give his sister a hug. "By golly, Gabby, you scared me."

"Well, you needn't be scared any longer," Dawson said. After the nurse exited, she said, "Thank God. They finally gave me painkillers."

Shay laughed. "Already back to yourself, huh?" she said jokingly as she gave her paramedic partner a hug. Antonio sat down opposite Casey as Lindsay said, "I'm glad you made it through. Although, I have to say, Kelly was complaining about the lack of painkillers too."

"Kelly? Is he okay?" Gabby asked, suddenly concerned. She was able to make better eye contact now that the nurse had helped her move up the back of the bed so she was more upright.

"You and Kelly were the worst injured out of everybody," Shay said, "But you got hit harder than him. He was still conscious when we carried him out of the building. You were out."

"Sounds lovely," Gabby said. "What happened to those two jerks with the bomb?"

Lindsay, Casey, Shay, and Antonio all exchanged looks before Antonio said, "Both DOA. There's no need to worry about them."

"That's good to hear," Gabby said, relieved. "What happened to Kelly? I mean, did he get hit in the head like me?"

"Not really," Lindsay replied, "He's got a few broken ribs that missed both of his lungs, a broken femur, and a concussion. But yeah, you both got hit in the head, if that's what you're asking."

"Can you say hi to him for me? I would go myself, but, I'm kind of stuck here," Dawson requested.

"Of course we will," Shay said, "Right, Lindsay?"

"Definitely," Lindsay said, smiling. Dawson suddenly felt the urge to ask, "Sorry, but…are you and Kelly dating?"

Lindsay chuckled. "Yeah, we are. Sorry, I forgot to fill you in. It kind of came out in the hospital waiting room."

"It's okay. Congrats anyway," Dawson said.

"Thanks," Erin said. She was about to pop out to get a drink when she saw something sparkle on Dawson's finger. "Although," she said, her detective mind whirring, "Do we owe you a "congrats" too?"

Shay and Antonio immediately turned to Dawson, and she held up her IV'd hand, the ring sparkling in the light. "Casey and I are getting married."

"Yeah!" Antonio said, flashing a big smile at Casey. Lindsay and Shay both jumped for joy and gave Dawson big hugs. Lindsay pulled out her vibrating phone and proceeded to say, "Oh, looks like I need to make the compulsory update call to the precinct. Do you mind if I tell the guys you're getting hitched?"

Casey and Dawson both nodded to each other, and Casey said, "That's cool."

"Great, I'll see you all later. Bye!" Lindsay said, leaving the room to call the Intelligence unit. Shay volunteered to stay with Dawson for a bit while Casey and Antonio went to visit Kelly, and as the soon-to-be brothers-in-law were walking down the hallway, Antonio said, "I'm really happy for you two."

"Thanks," Casey said, "And you were right. About her saying yes."

"I'm glad I was," Antonio said, and they soon found themselves entering Kelly's room. "Hey there," Casey said, finding his fellow lieutenant in a hospital bed and gown similar to Gabby. "Hey," Kelly said. He was sitting upright and seemed a bit more coherent than Gabby had been, but probably because he'd been awake for longer. "How are you?" Casey asked, Antonio following him over to the window side of the room.

"As good as possible, I guess, considering the circumstances," Kelly replied, "I mean, they've finally given me some painkillers, so that's good."

"Painkillers are always helpful," Antonio said, "I can say from personal experience."

"I think all of us can," Casey said, realizing that all three of them had now been in hospital at one point or another. Weird. Kelly quickly jumped to the point because Casey and Antonio hadn't.

"Is Gabby okay? Have you seen her?"

"She's going to be okay. She woke up a little while ago," Casey said, and Kelly could sense the joy and relief in his voice.

"She's got more stitches than you, though," Antonio added on. "I'm glad they were able to spare your lungs."

"Me too," Kelly replied, "I've just got three broken ribs that are gonna have to heal."

"We'll all help you get through it, you know that," Casey said, "And Shay is more than willing to be caretaker."

"She'll probably be alternating between me and Dawson," Kelly commented, and Casey said, "Yeah, you're probably right." Casey paused, and after Antonio gave him a look, Casey continued, "Oh, yeah, I wanted to let you know that…"

"What?" Kelly asked, curious.

"Gabby and I are getting married."

"Seriously? That's awesome. I'm happy for you, man," Kelly said, really happy for his best friend. Before any of them could speak any more, Antonio's phone vibrated. "Oh," he said, "I've got to go fill Boden in on everything. He wants to give you guys privacy but wants to know how you're doing."

"Okay," Kelly said, "Good seeing you, Antonio."

"Good seeing you too," Antonio replied, "You get some rest, okay?"

"I will," Kelly agreed, and Antonio left the room. When Casey was sure that the two of them were alone, he asked, "Kelly?"

"Yeah?"

"I know your brain must be a little fuzzy right now, but…will you be my best man at my wedding?"

Kelly, now feeling really happy, gave Casey an of-course look and said, "Dude, I'd be honored. Your and Gabby's wedding would be something that I would never want to miss." He paused, then said, teasingly, "Although, I was secretly hoping that you'd ask."

"Hey, don't anger the groom," Casey joked. "I'm going to go check on Gabby again, and I'll be back a bit later. When can you get back home? Gabby's doctors said that she can go home within a week."

"Same here, they said they'll have to keep monitoring me," Kelly said, "See ya, buddy. And congratulations."

"Thanks, man," Casey said. He gave his best friend a big goodbye smile and exited the room, closing the door behind him.

Back in Dawson's room, Shay had started going hyper and ecstatic over the fact that Dawson and Casey were getting married. Dawson was getting tired already, but was loving listening to her best friend think of wedding ideas. Without thinking, because she didn't need to, Dawson said, "Shay? You'll be my maid of honor, right? Cause I'm not getting married without you at my wedding."

Shay smiled. "Are you kidding, girl? Of course I'll be your maid of honor. We can start planning as soon as you get home if you want. When can you come home, anyway?"

"They said within a week, but only if I keep steadily improving. Which I hope I do, because I don't know how long I can stand this hospital gown."

Shay laughed. "Yeah, those aren't fun. But when you think about it, it isn't really much to complain about when you realize that the people here saved your life."

"You're right," Dawson said, "And if you don't mind, I kind of want to rest a little."

"That's totally fine," Shay said, "I'll wait here until Casey comes back, okay?"

"Okay," Dawson said, smiling lightly as she closed her eyes. Due to all the drugs running through her system and all the excitement since she had woken up, she fell asleep before Casey made it back to her room.


	8. Surprise!

**Thank you so much for all the reviews for this FanFic! I hope you enjoy the next few chapters (now that it's August I have more time to write! Yay!)**

Chapter 8

Six days later, Casey was helping Gabby get into some casual clothes in her hospital room when one of the nurses came in with the discharge paperwork. "Okay," she began, "So the doctor's happy with your progress so far, but wants you to take at least six weeks off to recover before you go back to work, and he wants to see you every week to check your progress. You can get your stitches out next week." Gabby sighed and flashed an annoyed glance at Matt because she had to miss so much work, and Matt just smiled back, knowing how annoyed Gabby would be.

Gabby signed off on all the papers, sat down in her wheelchair, and Matt wheeled her all the way down to the car. They put a pair of crutches in the trunk with the wheelchair because she would be able to use those around the apartment for a while. As soon as Matt wheeled Gabby into the fresh outside air, she took a deep breath in and sighed in delight. "Ah, this feels so good," she said, smiling.

"I'm sure," Casey replied, agreeing that the fresh air smelled nice. He helped Gabby into the passenger side of her car, and drove away from the hospital. When Gabby realized that they were turning towards Matt's apartment and not hers, asked, "Matt? Why are we going towards your place? I thought you were taking me home," she said, confused.

Matt smiled. "The doctor said that you needed to stay with someone for a while, and I talked to Antonio, and you're going to be staying with me for a while, okay? Laura and Antonio picked up some stuff from your place. They dropped it by last night when I went home to shower."

"Really? Thank you," Gabby said, internally overjoyed that she was going to get to spend time with Matt.

"And since you're my fiancé," Matt added, "I think it's time we got our own place, don't you think?"

"Seriously?" Gabby said as Matt parked her car outside his place. "Seriously," Matt replied as he leaned over and gave Gabby a kiss. Gabby kissed back and then leaned back against the seat for air. She look fondly at Matt and said, "Thank you. For everything this past week. I don't know how I would be doing at this point without you."

"I'm not going anywhere," Matt said, "You were there for me 24/7 after a block of wood landed on my head."

Gabby let out a small laugh, and then said, "Can you help me get out of the car please? I'm dying to sit on a couch for the first time in a week."

"Hang on," Matt said, jumping out to get the crutches from the trunk. After they were inside and Gabby was safely on the sofa, Matt walked back in with some tea and asked, "Do you want to go over to Shay and Severide's place later? I thought maybe we could chat a bit and have a drink."

"Sure, as long as Severide isn't too exhausted," Gabby said, "And I'm dying for a beer or something. You got any here?"

"Always do," Matt said, "You want one now?"

"It's 5 o'clock somewhere," Gabby said, shrugging, and Matt laughed as he returned to the kitchen to grab and open two beers. He sat down on the sofa next to the love of his life, they tapped their bottles together, and took a sip. As Matt looked into Gabby's eyes, he was unimaginably happy that Gabby had made it through – otherwise, he didn't know where he would be either.

"Gabs, Gabby, wake up. Time to go," Matt said into Gabby's ear. "What?" she replied sleepily. She realized that she had fallen asleep on Matt's couch. "To Shay's you mean?"

"Yeah," he replied, bringing her crutches over. "And Severide has already assured me that there is a spot on the sofa next to him reserved for you."

"That's nice of him," Gabby replied, balancing herself on the crutches, "But, I would rather sit leaning against you." She gave him a light kiss, and when they drove around to Shay and Severide's apartment, there were a lot of cars parked on the block. "Is there a party going on or something?" Casey asked Gabby, trying not to sound suspicious. "No idea," Gabby acknowledged. As Shay opened the door, everyone from their shift at 51 yelled "Surprise!" and Gabby was overcome with glee. She had been dying to see everyone outside the hospital.

"You knew about this?" Gabby asked Matt. When he nodded with a cheeky smile, she made her way over to sit down across from Severide, who looked pretty happy himself as he sipped a beer. "Hey there leg cast buddy," she said.

"Hey Dawson. How're you feeling?" he replied.

"A lot better thanks. You?"

"Good, good. Glad I can consume alcohol."

"You can say that again," Dawson replied as Casey handed her a beer and Shay and Casey quieted the room. Dawson also spotted Antonio and Erin in the crowd. "Shay, would you like to start?"

"Okay," Shay said, turning to face both the audience and Severide and Dawson. "Kelly," she began again, "We're all so happy that you're going to be okay, and while we were all super worried about you, I secretly knew that you wouldn't let a building explosion get in your way of living out the rest of your life." The crowd laughed, knowing there were multiple meanings to Shay's statement, and she continued after a pause. "While we will miss you around 51 and on Squad while you recover, we can't wait until you're back saving our asses. Cheers to you, Severide."

"To Severide!" Everyone rejoiced, and while they took a sip of their drinks, and as Shay sat down next to Kelly and Erin, Antonio sat down next to Gabby, and Casey began to speak. "Gabs," she said with a smile, "While you were in emergency surgery fighting for your life, your brother sat down next to me. I was so terrified I wasn't really thinking straight, and uh, after I told your brother that I had asked you to marry me but I had never gotten your response, he sighed and told me that he knew that you would say yes.

"You have done so much for me and everyone in this room, and I'm so happy that you're here with us today, but I'm overjoyed that you're going to be my wife." Everyone erupted in further cheers as Casey said, "To Dawson!"

The crowd replied, "To Dawson!"

After a couple of hours of drinking, chatting, laughing, and talking about upcoming plans, Matt sat down next to Gabby and asked, "How're you doing? Tired?"

"Yeah," Gabby replied, "I feel about ready to fall asleep."

"Come on, let's get you home," Casey replied. After saying many goodbyes, Gabby let her eyes close in Matt's car and before she knew it, Matt was rubbing her shoulder. "Honey, we're home."

"What?" Gabby said, in a somewhat sleepy stupor. "Yep, come on," Matt whispered.

After helping Gabby get into his bed, Matt sat down on sofa in his living room to watch the end of the Blackhawks game. He became even happier than he had already been that day when the Blackhawks scored the game winning goal in overtime, and he switched off the TV and headed for bed. But when he got into bed, Gabby said, "Hey," and turned around to face him.

"Are you okay? I thought you were asleep," Matt said.

"I couldn't get back to sleep without you," she replied, grabbing Matt's hand.

Matt pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry, Gabby, I shouldn't have left you alone."

"It's okay," she replied. "I love you, Matt."

"I love you too, Gabby," Matt replied, shortly before they fell asleep in each other's arms.


	9. Panic

Chapter 9

Shay woke to the sound of a loud metal object colliding with the metal bars on the stairs. _What? _She thought to herself, but then she heard Kelly say "Dammit!" and she knew that it was time to get out of bed.

When she walked into the hallway and saw that Kelly had gotten one of his crutches stuck in the stairs, Shay gasped. "Are you okay? And what are doing up here? I thought you were sleeping in the living room last night."

"I'm fine, just got one of my crutches stuck when I was trying to get down the stairs," Kelly said as Shay pulled the stuck one free. "Thanks," he continued, "And in response to your question about sleeping downstairs? I've been stuck in a hospital bed for over a week and it was really nice to sleep in my own bed for once."

"Fine," Shay conceded, helping Kelly the rest of the way down the stairs. After Shay got him situated on the couch, he started talking about how he was getting frustrated with the crutches, having his leg in a full splint, and that his ribs hurt.

"The rib pain is to be expected. You did break three after all," Shay responded, handing him a glass of water and his three pills that he had to take in the morning.

"Which ones do what?" he asked, knowing that as a paramedic, Shay would have an answer.

Shay replied, "The white circular one is so you don't get any potentially harmful infections, the blue one is the painkillers for your ribs, and the green one is for your femur. Now take them. Please."

"Shay, I'm not a baby, I can take care of myself," Severide spat back, frustrated.

"Says the same person who got one of his crutches stuck in the stairs?" Shay asked back, knowing that she had him beat.

"Sorry," he admitted, "I'm just frustrated, okay? I can't go to work, let alone get around the apartment or down the stairs by myself."

Shay, realizing that Severide probably wouldn't do too well by himself, picked her phone up off the counter and dialed Boden's number. Luckily, he picked up after a few rings. "Boden," he said into the speaker.

"Morning, Chief, it's Shay," she began, "Listen, I'm really sorry to do this on short notice but Kelly is having a tough morning so I'm going to take a personal day and keep an eye on him."

"Say no more, Shay. I appreciate that you're helping him out. In fact, Casey also took a personal day to look after Dawson."

"That's sweet," Shay commented, "Thank you Chief. I'll see you in two days!"

"See you then. Say hi to Kelly for me," Boden said, chuckling at the thought of a Kelly Severide confined to an apartment.

"I will. Bye, Chief," Shay replied, hanging up the phone. The end of her phone conversation caused Kelly to pipe up.

"You didn't have to do that, Shay, really."

"Yes, I did," Shay said, "Boden says hi. End of discussion. Now…what do you want for breakfast?"

Later that day, Gabby was checking on the lasagna that she had put in the oven 25 minutes earlier for dinner. Matt had gotten called to a last minute construction job in the afternoon, and after much convincing from Gabby that she would be fine, he went off to fix somebody's porch.

That had left Gabby on her own to make something for dinner when she got hungry.

It was hard to stand up for long periods of time with the huge number of stitches in her leg and it was even more difficult to cut with a broken wrist, so Gabby had managed to make due by cooking the pasta in a very light pan, using the pasta sauce in the pantry, and mixing in already-grated cheese. As she looked at the bubbling cheese on the top of the dish, she felt very proud of herself.

But now her leg was tired and her broken wrist was extremely sore, which technically wasn't supposed to happen. _Oh well, _she thought, _had to start somewhere._

She wasn't quite sure how she was going to get it out of the oven (she had only just managed to drop it in), and she was in luck as Matt chose that moment to walk in the door. "Hey babe," he began, sniffing loudly, "Golly, that smells good. You didn't hurt yourself while cooking, did you?"

"No," Gabby said, smiling, "But it was harder than you might think and my "broken" wrist hurts. Can you get it out of the oven for me? I need to sit down."

"No problem," he replied, giving Gabby a quick kiss on his way in to the kitchen.

After Matt had served up the food, they had eaten, and Matt had cleaned all the dishes, he helped Gabby onto the couch and headed for the shower.

Ten minutes later, Gabby was scrolling through Facebook on her phone when she felt something weird in her bandaged leg.

And then pain.

"Ow," she said out loud as she slowly moved to a sitting up position, her healthy leg on the floor, her bandaged leg still on the couch. She carefully pulled away some of the bandaging and she saw blood and puss around the wound in her leg. _No, _she thought, beginning to panic.

"Matt!" she screamed.

Matt, who had just gotten out of the shower, ran into the living room with just boxers and a t-shirt on, asking, "What's wrong, baby?" along the way.

"My leg, it, it hurts and it doesn't look good at all. It looks infected, Matt," Gabby blurted out, tears coming to her eyes because of the pain.

Matt kept his composure and said, "I'm going to put some pants on, and then I'm driving you to the ER, okay?"

"Okay," Gabby spat. Less than two minutes later, Matt helped Gabby into the car, turned on the ignition, and sped down their street towards Lakeshore, praying that his girl would be okay.


	10. Stuck

**Thank you so much for all the reviews and support! I'm not sure how many more chapters I am going to write for this story so I am totally open to suggestions! Enjoy **

Chapter 10

When Gabby came to in a hospital room again, she was pissed. Her leg still hurt, but the pain had subsided. She noticed new bandaging around the leg and a new IV in her left arm. _Fabulous, _she thought to herself. _I'm stuck in a hospital. Again._

Matt walked back into the room at that moment, and gave his fiancé and big hug and a kiss. "How are you feeling?" he asked hopefully, pulling a chair over to sit down next to her bed.

"Better, but pissed off," she replied, looking around the room. "Why did I have to be admitted again?"

"You were right. Your leg wound somehow got infected. The doctors said it wasn't your fault, but they don't know why it happened because it shouldn't have."

"How long do I have to stay?" Gabby spat. Before Matt could answer, one of the doctors Gabby had seen a few days before walked into the room and replied, "At least 24 hours."

"What? Are you serious?" Gabby questioned. She couldn't believe what she hearing. She had only been home for a day and now she had to lie in an uncomfortable hospital bed for another day. "Cause that is not cool. I want to go home."

"I don't know if my saying this will help, but I can sympathize. I know you were only discharged 36 hours ago, but we need you here for 24 hours to monitor your leg and make sure that it doesn't flare up again."

Gabby leaned back against the hospital bed and sighed in annoyance. She then cleared her throat and told the doctor, "Is there any way I can go home in less than 24 hours?"

"If your leg was your only current injury, yes. But since your leg is not your only current injury, no." Gabby tried to protect, but the doctor cut her off. "The answer is no. I'm sorry. I would let you out sooner if I could, but I have to follow protocol." The doctor wrote some stuff down on a clipboard, and as he turned to leave, he said, "I think that it might have had something to do with the painkillers we gave you, so I'm going to give you a different prescription to take home tomorrow. Just in case. And I'll be back in a couple of hours to check on you."

Once the doctor left the room and closed the door, and Gabby curled her intact wrist into a ball and slammed it into the mattress of the hospital bed. She groaned in annoyance again, and Matt grabbed her healthy hand and said, "Gabby, I know you're frustrated. But they're doing what they think is best."

"I'm allowed to be angry, okay? I got out yesterday and now I'm back again. I just thought I was done with IVs and hospital beds for a while."

"I know, I know," Matt replied sympathetically, placing his other hand on her lower arm. "But just think. One more day. That's it."

"A very long one day at that."

"Gabby," Matt said firmly.

"What?" Gabby yelled back, tears of frustration coming to her eyes. "I don't care what they say. I wanted to be at home. With you. Just the two of us. For the first time in over a week. Argh!"

"Hey, Gabby, look," Matt replied, trying to calm her down, "Once you are out of here tomorrow, we will go home, I'll take a few more shifts off, and we will have many days where it's just you and me. Okay?"

"Okay," Gabby conceded. After thinking for a few more seconds, she asked, "Am I allowed to have alcohol in here? Like a beer?"

"I don't know, but I can ask if you want. It probably won't go well with the painkillers, though," Matt replied.

"Alright, then," Gabby responded as she heard two firm knocks on the door. "Who's that? What time is it?"

"It's 9:30," Matt replied with a smile as he went to open the door. When Gabby saw that her brother and Shay were walking into the room, a smile immediately took over her face. "Antonio! Shay! How did you two get in here?"

"Oh we sweet-talked the nurses at the front and showed them our badges. Antonio's was the one that got us through," Shay said sarcastically. "But we had to see you. Sorry about your leg."

"Don't mention it," Gabby replied, giving both of them a hug. "But I don't want to stay here for another day."

"She made that a little too clear to the doctor five minutes ago," Matt commented with a smirk.

"Hey!" Gabby spat back. "I was just making it clear that I want to go home and I'm pissed. There's nothing wrong with that."

"It certainly proves that you're yourself," Antonio said, chuckling. "I'm glad to see that you're okay. Matt nearly gave me a heart attack when he called me earlier."

"I'm glad he didn't actually give you one," Gabby replied, "You've already been in the hospital two too many times this year."

"That's part of the job, sis," Antonio said, "I'm glad I could see you, but I've gotta get back to Intelligence. We're really close to making a big bust."

"See ya, bro," Gabby said, giving Antonio one final hug. He gave Shay and Matt hugs before he ran out the door.

"Is he always that busy?" Shay asked.

"Honestly, it depends," Gabby replied, rolling her eyes, "Some days it's like that, other days it's like he's on vacation."

"I miss you on ambo, girl. But I didn't actually go to work today cause Kelly got one of his crutches stuck in the stairs this morning," Shay commented.

This caused both Gabby and Matt to burst out laughing. "Only Kelly," Gabby replied, "He hasn't got any infections, right?"

"No, he's just bored out of his mind. Now I've gotta get back before he drinks all the beer in the fridge. I'll call you tomorrow, ok?"

"Okay, and thanks for visiting. It means a lot," Gabby said, giving Shay a high-five.

"Anything for my BFF," Shay replied, smiling. "See ya, Casey," were her last words before walking out and shutting the door.

"Great," Gabby sighed, "23 more hours to go."

"I'm going to be right here, okay? And why don't we do something interesting like try and see where we want to get married?" Matt suggested.

Gabby replied that she was up for it and after an hour of scrolling through various locations, she said, "You know…I don't want to rain on Boden's parade but I kind of want to get married at 51. That's where we met to begin with, right?"

"That sounds like a great idea," Matt replied, liking her idea. He gave Gabby a kiss and said, "Now try to get some rest. You'll need it tomorrow."

"If you insist," Gabby replied in a mock-annoyed tone. She turned on her side to face Matt and pulled him in for another kiss. "Promise you'll stay?"

"I'm not going anywhere, don't you worry."


	11. Katie

Chapter 11

Just after he flicked on the TV and Shay had gone to get dressed, Kelly heard three louds knocks at the front door. Grunting, he grabbed his crutches and made his way over to the door as fast as he could. When he looked through the peephole, he immediately reached for the handle because he couldn't believe who was on the other side.

"Katie?" he asked, delight in his voice.

"Oh my God, Kelly! I was so scared!" His younger sister said, giving him a big hug.

"I didn't know you were coming! Shay could have picked you up," Kelly said, hopping backwards so Katie could get inside.

"I flew in and got a cab. I had to see you as soon as I could. Otis called me in a panic when you were in the hospital and the first flight I could get on was this morning. I'm so happy to see you!" She gave her big brother a hug and then helped him sit down after shutting and locking the door.

"So…you're back from Colorado, then?" Kelly asked, a little nervous.

"Yeah, I am," Katie clarified, "I just landed a new restaurant job back here, and the reason it took me a few days to get out here was because I had to pack up all my stuff."

"You're ready to be back here again?" Kelly asked cautiously.

"Yeah. The time away was hard because I couldn't see you or Brian, but, it was definitely worthwhile in the long run. I feel a lot better now."

"I'm so glad. I missed you."

"I missed you too!" Shay yelled from the top of the stairs. Katie and Shay exchanged greetings and a big hug, and once Shay was sitting down, Katie sighed and said, "Okay, so, my moving back was kind of a spontaneous decision that I made after I landed the job and you got hurt, so…I haven't figured out a living situation yet, so I was wondering if I could crash with you guys for a couple of weeks while I get some things sorted. I've got two suitcases here, but more boxes are arriving on a freight plane tonight."

Shay and Kelly looked at each other, smiled, and Kelly replied, "Of course. Take the extra bedroom. And you can stay as long as you need. If you want, you can just live here. Right Shay?" Shay nodded and agreed, "Totally. We have a spare key we can give you."

"Thank you so much, you guys. I really appreciate it," Katie said with delight.

"Hey, anything for my little sis," Kelly said. "When does your other stuff get in?"

"The company's gonna call me when it gets in, but it shouldn't be until this afternoon," Katie assured her brother and her brother's BFF. Shay nodded and said, "Okay, cool. I'll ask Casey if we can borrow his truck to bring the stuff over."

"Why not just have Casey go with you?" Kelly suggested. Shay sighed, then replied, "Gabby is getting out of the hospital again tonight, and he needs to be there to take her home. She was pissed when she woke up again last night, so she's going to want to get out of there as quickly as humanely possible."

Katie gasped. "Is she okay? What happened?"

"She was injured badly in the explosion too," Kelly explained, "She was discharged two days ago like me, but her leg wound got infected last night."

"Oh no!" Katie said, feeling bad for Dawson. "Well, thank you so much, you guys. Now I'm going to head over to Brian's. I told him I would come over after I went to see you, and now he's probably wondering where I am."

Shay and Kelly both laughed and Shay said afterwards, "Have fun, Katie. Oh, let me get the spare key for you so you can let yourself in if Kelly falls asleep."

"Thank you!" Katie said, sticking the key in her purse. She walked out of the apartment to head to Brian's feeling the happiest she had felt since she had decided to move back to Chicago.


	12. Deja Vu

Chapter 12

"And Ms. Dawson, please remember to take it easy for the next couple of weeks, and I'll see you in two weeks to get your stitches out," the doctor instructed, even though Casey was being more attentive than Dawson. She couldn't care less about anything he was saying; all she could think about was how she finally got to go home after another long day in the hospital.

Casey managed to say thank you to the doctor and send him on his way before helping Gabby into her wheelchair and giving Gabby her duffel bag to hold on to. As they exited the hospital and Gabby breathed in her first breaths of fresh air in over a day, she let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Happy to be out of there?" Casey said sarcastically.

Gabby chuckled and replied, "God, you have no idea."

"I do, actually. I couldn't wait to leave the hospital after my head injury," Casey reminded Gabby. Gabby smiled, turned to her fiancé, and replied, "Of course. Sorry. Can we please get going, though?"

"Yes, let's," Casey replied, pushing Gabby towards the parking garage elevators. After riding up to the third floor and moving a couple of aisles over, the couple arrived at Matt's truck. Casey took Gabby's duffel from her and threw it in the back next to her crutches, and after helping Gabby into the passenger side, threw the wheelchair in the back as well. The sun was already beginning to go down, reminding both of them that it had been almost exactly a day since Casey had rushed Gabby into the ER the night before.

Gabby, aside from feeling exhausted and a little off because of the new painkillers, couldn't be happier to be out of that dang hospital room. Now, she would finally get to spend a few days with Matt. Just the two of them. She couldn't wait, and Matt caught her smiling as he pulled out of the parking lot. "What?" he asked affectionately.

Looking towards Matt, Gabby replied, "I was just thinking about how happy I am that we finally get to have a few days where it's just the two of us before you have to go back to work."

"Me too," Casey replied, "But, actually…I talked to Boden last night after you fell asleep."

"What? Why?" Gabby said, surprised and curious. She saw out of the corner of her eye that they were already at Matt's apartment. _He must have been driving fast or my senses are really off, _she thought to herself.

"Since I've got almost two years-worth of vacation time built up, we agreed that I would take three weeks off to help you recover. Hermann's gonna cover for me because he just passed his lieutenant's test anyway," he explained, putting the truck in park next to the curb. As he reached forward to cut the ignition, Gabby said, "Really? You serious?"

Casey cut the engine, grabbed Gabby's hand, and replied, "Dead serious. You're my girl, and if I had to go to work while you were still recovering, I would worry about you every minute of the shift. I want to be here for you like you were for me back when-"

Gabby didn't let Matt finish by passionately kissing him. She scooted closer to him, and after a few seconds she pulled back and said. "Thank you. You don't know how much you mean to me right now. And how much I love you."

"I love you too, Gabby. Now let's get you inside, okay?"

"Okay," Gabby conceded, suddenly liking the idea of a comfy sofa and a warm, cozy apartment. She suddenly got a déjà vu feeling in her stomach, and then she remembered that two days ago she had been coming home from the hospital with Matt. _Hopefully this is the last time, _Gabby silently hoped. _Unless we decide to have kids later, of course._

Three hours, two pizzas, three beers, and one old movie later, Matt was sitting on the couch next to Gabby, whose head was curled up under his shoulder. Matt was so happy that his girl was okay, even though he knew that she had been really pissed yesterday. He was also feeling the same as Gabby in that he was very much looking forward to spending three weeks with her. And then, on a whim, he leaned down and kissed his fiancé.

Gabby returned the kiss, and the tension between them kept growing stronger until Gabby pulled back after a couple of minutes. "Matt?" she began nervously.

"Yeah?" he replied quietly, their faces still inches apart from each other.

"I want to be like that with you, I just…I don't have enough energy back yet, ok?"

"I completely understand," Matt acknowledged, giving Gabby a hug. When he leaned back to make eye contact with her again, Gabby seemed to read his mind and smiled, replying, "Believe me, when I can, I will." They shared another kiss and then Casey helped Dawson towards the bathroom so she could take a bath.


	13. Epilogue: A Long Way

**Hi Everyone! I'm sorry if I anger anyone when I say that I've decided to bring this FanFic to an end. I have written an Epilogue which is below this note, but I want to thank everyone for all their enthusiasm and support of this story! Please keep a look out for my other FanFictions for **_**CF, CPD, **_**and **_**The Good Wife!**_

Epilogue

2 Months Later

In all her years as a paramedic and all her time at the fire academy, Gabriela Dawson had never felt so nervous. Even though Casey was right by her side, squeezing her hand, she couldn't help but fidget as she sat on the examination table in the doctor's office. She was waiting for her doctor to return with one of two responses: either she could go to work, or she couldn't yet. And the possibility of the latter made Gabby cringe.

The gash on her leg that had once been infected was now nothing more than a long, thin scar that stretched from the bottom of her kneecap to just above her ankle. The small cut on her head was now nonexistent, her hair having regrown over the cut. She was also feeling the best she had felt since before the accident – and that was something to be happy about.

Casey didn't make Gabby talk – he knew that she just needed his support right now. Luckily, the doctor finally returned to the room with some paperwork in hand. After the doctor sighed, but didn't speak, Dawson said, affirmatively, "And?"

The doctor then smiled, and said, "Everything looks great. I don't see why you can't return to full duty on your next shift."

Gabby squealed with joy and embraced Matt in a tight hug. Matt smiled, happy for Gabby that she wouldn't have to wait any longer. Their happy moment was interrupted by the doctor continuing, "But I would like to see you in six weeks just to make sure that everything is still good. Just as a precaution. And congratulations. Feel free to go out and celebrate. You've come a long way."

"Thank you," Gabby uttered as the doctor left the room again. Once the door clicked shut, Gabby whirled around and gave Matt a big, passionate kiss. His hands quickly found her hips, and after a few seconds Gabby broke it off and took a deep breath in, smiling the whole time. "You know what this means, right?" she said, smirking.

"I think so," Matt teased, smiling from ear to ear. He had today off, which meant that he and Gabby wouldn't have to show up for their next shift until tomorrow morning. As he grabbed his and Gabby's jackets, Gabby was composing a quick text to Shay.

_I'm in the clear! See you at work tomorrow :D_

Shay took less than thirty seconds to reply. _YES! So happy for you! Kelly got the all clear this morning too! See you tomorrow! _

Gabby smiled even bigger as she read Shay's text, and said to Matt, "Kelly got the all clear today too. So we'll see him at work tomorrow as well."

"At least we don't have to show up until tomorrow," Matt remarked with a smile. After a long car ride home because of bad mid-day traffic, Gabby and Matt entered Matt's apartment.

But, there were boxes everywhere, which made moving around the rooms a little difficult. But Matt and Gabby didn't mind the boxes; they were moving to their own place in two weeks.

A couple of weeks after Gabby had been discharged the second time, Matt roped in people from 51 and the Intelligence Unit (via Antonio) to help package up the stuff in Gabby's apartment. Since Gabby was practically living at Matt's after the explosion anyway, they just agreed that she would temporarily move into his place while they looked for a new apartment.

Gabby followed Matt around the maze of boxes to the kitchen, and before she could say anything, Matt gave into his desires and kissed Gabby, gently lifting her up onto the counter.

Gabby, who had been waiting for this as long as he had, cradled Matt's neck as Matt held her hips. The passion escalated quickly, and a few hours later Gabby rolled over in bed to face a smiling Matt. "Hungry? 'Cause I am," she said matter-of-factly, getting up to locate a t-shirt so she could go and make a sandwich.

"Yeah, I'm hungry after the past few hours," Matt said, smirking. Gabby smacked him on the arm as she pulled on shorts and pulled her hair back in a ponytail. As Matt watched Gabby walk into the kitchen wearing shorts and one of his t-shirts, he couldn't help but feel ever so thankful that they were together.


End file.
